Instant Noodles

In high school I was introduced to this food called Instant Noodles. Sometimes it came in a bowl, a cup, or wrapped in plastic. On occasion it came with freeze-dried vegetables and a packet of "seasoning." By the time college came around, this food was a staple in my diet, even though I was told it was bad for you. After so many years of boiling the water, adding the noodles and then, if necessary, stirring in the "seasoning," I found out that I've been cooking it wrong. Yes, according to Singaporeans, the instructions on the packaging is WRONG!
My grandmother is the cook of the house and sometimes she makes really elaborate dishes with foods I've never heard of. Most of the time it's best not to ask what it is and just try it. My grandmother also is very aware of what I like and don't like. For the first couple of days in Singapore she bought me tomatoes! (It's one of my favorite foods that I showed her several years ago.) Now I buy my own. She also cooked me  instant noodles with pork, veggies and a fried egg, another favorite of mine. One day my grandmother was too tired to cook for me so I said I would cook it myself. Watching me cook my food she was shocked to see how much water I was trying to boil. Then she noticed that I put in the packet of "seasoning" and said "No no! Not nice!" She ended up moving me out of the way and finished cooking my dish. She threw in a bunch of little things here and there. I tried to follow her way of cooking but was soon lost in a series of pinches of this and drops of that. What she salvaged from my pot of noodles turned into something not great, but not bad either.
Instant noodles is a staple to the Singaporean menu of good eats, but it's enhanced from the way Americans have come to eat it. There's even a show dedicated to the origin of all things Instant Noodles. Singaporeans love food and you see that immediately in the Hawker Centers and the Malls. All kinds of food is readily available to Singaporeans. However, I will warn you that the food that is deemed "Chinese food" in America is very different than the cultural Chinese food that is here.

Instant noodle cooking wasn't the only thing that shocked my world. Small house chores like laundry or cleaning the dishes are done differently here in Singapore. Laundry should be washed almost twice a week to avoid mold and there is only a washer for the laundry, no dryer. The clothes must be air-dried and only when the sun is out or you might get rained on clothes. Dish washing must be done by hand with the least amount of water, so you need to wash or wipe off excess food, soap all the dishes (top and bottom of every cup, plate, and pot), and then water it down. Exchanging money and contacting relatives are also in need of adjustment. When giving someone money, since money is very valuable, you should give it with two hands to the receiver. Also, in traditional families, which is practically the majority of the Singaporean natives, you should know the order of each grandparent, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc. so you can call them by the appropriate title. An example, my baby cousin will call me Biao Jie (meaning older girl cousin) since I am older than him and I will call him Biao Di (meaning young boy cousin). Another quark to all things Singaporean is saying "lah" at the end of almost every other sentence, even if it's in English. You know the person is from Singapore  when they say "lah" just about the same way that you know a person is Canadian when they say "eh." All of these little things are fascinating to me, however oh so frustrating! Coming from a culture that doesn't practice any of these habits you begin to think "why?" and even after you get a good explanation you're still scratching your head saying "that's odd." But it's not really that odd, at least to a Singaporean. It's their way of life.
So you see, I'm still going through the adjustment phase of my trip. I was warned about the changes and yet I still dove into a world where I am quite an outsider. Coming back home will also be a challenge because I'll want to bring the practices that I've learned overseas back home with me. But how much will you bet that I can make a successful food truck out of Singaporean Instant Noodles? Just thoughts, lah.